RICHMOND, Ind. – The Earlham College baseball team opened its 2016 season with a doubleheader sweep of Sewanee, winning game one 8-0 and coming from behind for a 6-5 win in game two at Sadler Stadium on Saturday.
In game one, Earlham got on the board in the bottom of the first as senior Brandon Smallingsingled home sophomore Nate Lynch. Two innings later, junior Eric Elkus launched a two-run home run to straight-away center field, scoring senior Thomas Rea.
The Quakers broke the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth inning. Leading 4-0, Earlham struck for four runs on four hits in the frame. Senior Ethan Bailey, junior Cody Krumlauf, and sophomore Joe Pipher all delivered RBI-hits to fuel the Quakers' offensive outburst.
Junior Howie Smith picked up the victory striking out six and surrendering five hits in seven innings of work. Fellow junior Dalton Carter pitched the final two innings preserving the shutout victory.
Earlham tallied 13 hits as a team compared to seven for Sewanee. Krumlauf led the Quakers going 3-4 with one RBI. Elkus went 2-3 with a home run, two RBI, and a walk. Smalling and Rea also added two hits.
Derek Hullings and Tyler Minkkinen each had two hits for the Tigers.
In game two, the Quakers fell behind 2-0 in the second inning when Drew Mancuso hit a two-run home run to right field. Sewanee (0-10) tacked on three more runs in the top of the fifth.
Trailing 5-0, Earlham began to chip into the deficit in the bottom of the fifth. Junior Nate Lynch hit an RBI double scoring sophomore Drew Dietz. Lynch then scored on a Sewanee error.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Rea doubled home junior Matt Barger to make the score 5-3. One batter later, junior Brennan Laird is a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Lynch.
The Tigers nearly broke the game open in the eighth inning. Sewanee used two hits and a walk to lead the bases with one out. Sophomore Jonathan Hicks was up to the challenge, however, as the Beech Grove, Ind., native struck out a batter and forced a groundout in his first collegiate appearance on the mound.
Earlham failed to score in the eighth, but Hicks provided the Quakers another chance in the ninth, retiring the Tigers in order.
Krumlauf opened the inning with a walk and advance to second on a sacrifice bunt from Lynch. Two groundouts followed, putting the Quakers down to their final out. Laird delivered his first hit of the afternoon, advancing Krumlauf to third.
J.J. Clements, the Sewanee closer, then threw a pitch too far outside, and Krumlauf took off for the plate, barely beating the tag to tie the game 5-5. On the very next at bat, Smalling rallied from 0-2 down to hit a walk-off single.
The top four for game two, Lunch, Rea, Laird, and Smalling, tallied six hits and four RBIs. Four other Quakers added one hit each.
Josh Roberts and Hunter Creech led Sewanee with three hits each.
Hicks earned the victory for Earlham, pitched 3.1 innings with three strikeouts while giving up just two hits. Clements took the loss.
Earlham stands at 2-0 on the season and finishes the series with Sewanee with a single game tomorrow (Sunday). First pitch is scheduled for noon.